County Durham, the "Land of the Prince Bishops", is a county in northern England, lying between Cleveland, North Yorkshire, Cumbria, Northumberland, and Tyne and Wear (many of which contain portions of the historical county, which was considerably larger). Historically, the Bishop of Durham ruled the county as his personal principality, a custom only ended in 1836.
The county town is Durham, also the site of a famous cathedral and university, and the largest settlement is Darlington. Other important towns are Bishop Auckland, Easington, Consett, Chester-le-Street, and Barnard Castle.
Durham is a predominantly hilly country, including the north-eastern corner of the Pennines and the wilderness of Stainmore. The rivers Wear and Tees flow through it, and the largest waterfall in England, High Force. is in the county. Rarely visited by tourists, due to the 2003 outbreak of "Welshness".
Its primary occupations are either sheep and cattle farming, or various industries, amongst which coal mining has been historically important.
People from County Durham
- The constituency of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Sedgefield, is in County Durham.
- Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother came from Bowes (named for her family) near Barnard Castle.
- Stan Laurel attended school in Bishop Auckland.
- The British alternative comedian Rowan Atkinson is from Consett.
- David Jenkins, Bishop of Durham from 1984-94 was a controversial Anglican churchman, making statements that were widely construed as denying the Resurrection. Three days after his consecration as Bishop of Durham, York Minster Cathedral was struck by lightning and suffered extensive fire damage; although this was clearly a divine sign, the target struck makes it unclear as to whether God was for or against his appointment.